Main Street Monthly A monthly publication from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs

Important Dates

Assessments and ROI due - February 2

Community Exchange in Auburn - February 2

CDBG 2017 Round 3 Applications due - February 9 Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch joined OCRA Executive Director Jodi Golden, along with Mayors and Stellar Designee representatives to announce changes made to the Stellar Communities Program in Rushville, Indiana.

There is still time to register for the

1 Wabash Marketplace, Inc. National Main Street announces February First Friday Conference

Wabash details Join your fellow commercial Organized by Wabash Marketplace, Inc., the seventh year district revitalization professionals of First Fridays in downtown Wabash kicks off with in City at the 2018 Main increased support thanks to the addition of several new Street Now Conference. From event sponsors. Brought to you by Platinum Sponsor March 26 to 28, sign up for for Autumn Ridge Rehabilitation Centre, First Friday three exciting days of educational encourages the community to celebrate in downtown sessions, mobile workshops, Wabash with this month’s theme “Searching for Love” from special events and plenty of 5-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2. opportunities for exploring all the great things Kansas City and the surrounding area has to offer. Discover so many deals, food options, and kids’ activities! First Whether you hail from an urban Friday participants business district, small rural should travel to each of downtown, or some place in between, find real solutions to the featured businesses common problems at the 2018 to find the heart hidden Main Street Now Conference in within the store with a Kansas City. See you in March! code word on it. These maps can be picked up View full education and event at The Welcome Center schedule here. and Modoc’s Market! Each location has a code word that is to be written on the map. Once the map is full, drop it off at any of the featured locations. You are then entered to win the First Friday Basket loaded with so many local 2017 IMS goodies! Sponsored by Beacon Credit Union and gas Assessment Forms supplied by J.M. Reynolds Oil Co., Inc., Trolley No. 85 will be making the rounds are available via SurveyMonkey

The Silicon Prairie: As a reminder, the 2017 Indiana Main Street Assessment and Entrepreneurship and the Arts in Return on Investment forms are Kansas City available to complete. The deadline for inputting both from MainStreet blog forms is February 2, 2018. This Kansas City, , and Kansas City, Kansas, are year both forms can be accessed neighbors separated by a river but connected by a shared through a SurveyMonkey website portal. We have sent PDF vision to create what some are calling the “Silicon Prairie” versions of the form to your board in the heart of the country. Kansas City has a long history to complete prior to filling out the of entrepreneurial spirit from cement tycoon and mob-boss SurveyMonkey form. Do not Tom Pendergast, to more noteworthy entrepreneurs like open the SurveyMonkey Henry and Richard Bloch of H.R. Block, to the Dubinsky website until you are ready to Brothers who purchased their first theater in downtown and complete the forms in their started AMC Theaters. entirety.

The spirit of attracting, promoting and retaining those We highly suggest that you print wanting to start new businesses in the Kansas City region the attached PDF files and write has flourished in the past decade with many initiatives and your answers on your printed organizations providing that support. The Office of the copies before inputting the data Mayor for the City of Kansas City, Missouri, created a in SurveyMonkey. Only one website that lists over 13 organizations supporting the person can complete the survey. surge in startups, providing resources, connection points,

2 capital, and formats helping make the city a hub for A copy of the instructional entrepreneurs and investors. Both mayors even created a PowerPoint on how to complete fun video on the history of entrepreneurship in Kansas these assessment can be found City. on our website.

Kansas City Startup Village (KCSV), a Want your neighborhood of Craftsman-style homes community to be straddling the state line featured as the next between Kansas and Missouri, started as Community hacker homes and has Spotlight? grown into an entrepreneurial Has your Main Street Community community taking recently finished a project, held advantage of Google Fiber’s super high-speed internet an exciting event, or you are just access. Kansas City was the first Google Fiber city in the proud of your organization? Tell country offering 100 times faster internet than the rest of us about it! the country. KCSV now hosts events for entrepreneurs, assists in finding startup capital and provides support for Email Mary new startup companies and their creators. View an Shaw interactive timeline of their journey. to submit stories and So why does entrepreneurship matter? According to photos for KCSourceLink.com, these are a few of the reasons: the chance to be It’s needed: Young firms (0-5 years) create jobs with net featured as the employment growth of 8.6 percent. Older and larger firms community shed more jobs than they create. spotlight in next month's newsletter. Previous issues of It works: Economic gardening, a focus on “growing your the newsletter can be found own” businesses in your region, resulted in 71 percent here. increase in employment in Littleton, Colorado, since 1989 while providing no incentives or tax breaks to recruit or attract outside business to the city.

Entrepreneurs and the jobs they create are a vital and critical ingredient for a growing economy and providing shared economic prosperity, opportunity and empowerment. Kansas City consistently tops the ratings for entrepreneurial growth and has made many lists in the past. In 2016, Kansas City topped these charts, among many others:

 #1 City for Business Growth (Wendover- InsightPRM Business Growth Report)  #2 Most Improved Metro Areas for Startup Growth (Kauffman Index of Startup Activity) Have you registered  #2 Best City for Women in Tech (Smart Asset) for the Auburn Main  #6 Best City for Creatives (Smart Asset)  Top 6 City that Offers Better Value for Growing Street Exhange? Startups (Forbes) The exchange is from 8:30 a.m.  Top 25 Future Ready Economy (Dell) to 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2 at Auburn's Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum. The $30 registration fee includes

3 The Kansas City region is not finished in their quest to be breakfast, snacks and lunch. the “Silicon Prairie.” The path is long and winding, but they Attendees can expect to hear are well on their way. Kansas City’s strong history of both from several guest speakers, entrepreneurship and public art demonstrates how these learn about grant programs, two industries truly do go hand-in-hand, making a more explore the museum and receive vibrant community. a tour downtown Auburn.

 Register now! Main Street America On Upswing In 2018 Community Liaison Small businesses are poised for success from update experts On January As big-box retailers like Kmart and Sam's Club announce 16, 2018, closures, analysts say Main Street America has a bright Andrea Kern outlook in 2018. Mom-and-pop shops and independent joined the retailers offering something in addition to their products are team as the especially promising. Spending was up for the holiday Northeast season in 2017, according to the National Retail Community Federation, which reported there was a 5.5 percent Liaison. increase in holiday sales in November and December compared with the previous year. Are you needing to know who is your assigned Community "Whether they shopped in-store, online or on their phones, Liaison? Click here to view our consumers were in the mood to spend, and retailers were map. there to offer them good value for their money," National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement this week. "With this as a starting point and tax cuts putting more money into consumers' pockets, we Build your are confident that retailers will have a very good year Economic Vitality ahead." Toolbox The National Retail Federation's Chief Economist Jack from MainStreet blog Kleinhenz said that the trend to spend will carry over into Is your Main Street program the new year, with help from low unemployment rates, poised to lead economic gains in the stock market and pick-ups in income. development? Are you working with a complete toolbox, from business recruitment "We think the willingness to spend and growing purchasing through succession planning? power seen during the holidays will be key drivers of the 2018 economy," Kleinhenz said. The Main Street America Institute’s Advanced Principles of Main Street Economic Vitality will tackle these communities questions, giving participants a capitalized on the solid foundation in the role of a holidays, and experts downtown and commercial say the trend of district entity to support economic people visiting local development using localized data small-business and assessment tools. Hilary shopping destinations Greenberg, of Greenberg is poised to continue. Development Services, will lead participants through tactical "Shoppers will return strategies for evaluation, to Main Street in 2018," Forbes said in its retail predictions planning, and business support to for the year ahead foster a thriving district. With over 30 years of experience in revitalization, Greenberg

4 Officials with Main Street America are inclined to agree. designed this course to focus on a wide-range of tools to help you strengthen your local economic "Experiential retail is one of the ways we're seeing Main base with assignments to give Streets compete," Hannah White, director of engagement you applicable, hands-on and outreach for Main Street America, told Patch about experience. Join us live on how retailers are staying competitive in the age of Amazon Tuesdays in February (13, 20 & and online shopping. Main Street America coordinates the 27) at 1 – 2:30 p.m. CT or view national Main Street program, which provides strategies recorded webinars through March for revitalizing historic districts. 30. Learn more and register now.

 Click here to read more. Want to take the next step? Advanced Principles of Effective Promotion, with instructor Travis Check out these other grant Brown of Rokusek, will broaden your approach to marketing your funding opportunities district’s unique identity using Cigarette Litter Prevention 21st century strategies. (March 6, 13 & 20) In the past decade, cigarette smoking in America has decreased 28 percent, yet cigarette butts remain the most For questions on participation, littered item in the U.S. and across the globe. Though courses, and how to get the most cigarette butts may be small, when they are carelessly out of your continuing education, dropped to the ground instead of properly disposed of, email us their litter has a big effect. You can start making a change at [email protected] or call 312-610-5619. in your community to reduce the amount of cigarette litter by implementing a local Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP). By providing people with easily accessible information and educational tools, as well as funding for ash receptacles and the distribution of pocket or portable ashtrays, Keep America Beautiful is making strides in educating the public and ensuring a cleaner tomorrow.

Keep America Beautiful awards CLPP grants to its affiliates, local governments, business improvement Join or Renew your membership districts, downtown associations, parks and recreation with the National Main Street areas, and other organizations dedicated to eradicating Center by visiting litter and beautifying their communities. Dearborn County mainstreet.org or calling 312-610- won this grant in 2017! The 2018 grant applications are 5611 due February 21, 2018.

Design Challenges

The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design (CIRD), a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, has issued a request for proposals inviting communities to apply for design assistance. The CIRD program provides rural communities with populations of 50,000 or less the opportunity to address challenges related to economic vitality and quality of life by employing design solutions. CIRD convenes two-day workshops with design professionals, local leaders, community organizations, and residents to create a plan for tackling issues around three topic areas—multimodal transportation, healthy living by design, and main street

5 revitalization. For more information, please visit the website.

Historic Preservation Historic Preservation Fund grants are now available for the Save America's Treasures (SAT) program. SAT grants provide preservation and/or conservation assistance to nationally significant historic properties and collections. Grants are awarded through a competitive process and require a dollar-for-dollar, non-Federal match, which can be cash or documented in-kind. All applications are due through grants.gov by Feb. 21, 2018. Visit this website for more information.

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